New Delhi: The public offer to sell 12.5 percent stake in Rashtriya Chemical and Ferilisers (RCF), which could fetch around Rs 300 crore to the exchequer, will hit the markets on March 8, a top government official said on Wednesday.

The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on disinvestment, headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, met on Wednesday and decided on the stake sale.

"EGoM met today and the notice to exchanges will be given today evening and OFS wil come day after tomorrow. Government wil divest 12.5 percent stake," Disinvestment Secretary Ravi Mathur told reporters

The Finance Ministry is considering to sell 12.5 percent stake, or 6.89 crore shares, of the company through the Offer For Sale (OFS) route.

Shares of RCF were trading up 2.14 percent at Rs 45.25, on the BSE at 1020 hrs today.

Sources said the government could raise between Rs 250-300 crore from the stake sale.

The government holds 92.5 percent stake in RCF and the paid up capital of the company is Rs 551.69 crore.

The Cabinet had in December approved the stake sale of RCF.

The RCF stake sale would help the government inch closer to the disinvestment target for the current fiscal. As per the revised estimates, the government is likely to raise Rs 24,000 crore through disinvestment in the current fiscal, lower than the budgeted Rs 30,000 crore.

So far this fiscal, it has raised over Rs 21,500 crore.

In the remaining weeks of the fiscal ending March 31, the Finance Ministry plans to sell stake in three more companies -- MMTC, SAIL and NALCO.